DENVER — While most public-facing National Weather Service operations and federal weather forecasting will continue through the federal government shutdown that started Wednesday, there will be some impacts. 

Effects on the National Weather Service, which is under the umbrella of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), will generally be limited because most workers are deemed essential. Essential federal employees will continue to work, although they will not be paid while the shutdown continues and will receive back pay after it’s over.

That means day-to-day weather forecasting will continue from weather service offices, the National Hurricane Center, the Storm Prediction Center, and other similar federal branches with their mission to protect life and property.

The U.S. Department of Commerce website confirmed this on its official website. 

“The Department of Commerce has prioritized critical functions to remain fully operational including (the) National Weather Service: Continuation of 24/7 operations nationwide, including all U.S. states and territories, to protect lives and property,” the statement says. 

That doesn’t mean there won’t be any impacts to NOAA and the National Weather Service.

Research projects, such as a National Science Foundation study in Colorado meant to better understand hail, will stop during the shutdown. 

Other nonessential functions under NOAA also won’t continue during the shutdown. For example, NOAA websites and social media will not be updated.

NOAA and the National Weather Service endured significant job cuts earlier this year under the Department of Government Efficiency’s tenure, reducing headcount by several hundred workers. The cuts mean that several weather service offices are operating short-staffed and that some critical weather balloon launches aren’t happening twice a day. Those balloons feed data straight into computer forecast models.

After the hundreds of federal employees were let go or accepted buyouts, the National Weather Service received permission to hire an additional 125 employees to fill critical gaps from the springtime cuts, buyouts and retirements. With the government at a standstill, though, hiring for those and other open positions will slow, at best.

If there are additional firings and layoffs, that could have an outsized impact on an agency already reeling from steep cuts.

Finally, the National Flood Insurance Program expired on Tuesday, meaning that homeowners won’t be able to access new coverage. Claims will be paid, but homeowners won’t be able to buy, renew or add onto their policies, according to the Associated Press.